New progress in bilayer excitons: bosonic crystals and fractional excitons
Jia Li
University of Texas
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
2:00 p.m.
In-person: QNC 1201
Abstract: An exciton is a Coulomb-bound state of an electron and a hole that behaves effectively as a bosonic particle. At low temperatures, a system of excitons can undergo Bose–Einstein condensation, forming a coherent quantum ground state that has been a central topic of research for decades. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress in bilayer exciton systems, where entirely new quantum phases of matter have been discovered. These include a crystalline phase of excitons, raising the tantalizing prospect of realizing a supersolid state. Even more exotic behavior emerges when charge fractionalization comes into play: excitons formed between fractionally charged quasiparticles give rise to neutral bound states with anyonic statistics—beyond the conventional categories of bosons and fermions.